Duke's Jahlil Okafor won't get chance to match up with Kentucky's Karl-Anthony Towns

Duke's Jahlil Okafor gets one more shot to prove himself as the No. 1 overall pick. (Lance King/Getty Images)

INDIANAPOLIS — Duke's Jahlil Okafor and Kentucky's Karl-Anthony Towns were pitted against each other from the moment the Final Four was set, even though their teams won't be facing each other in Monday night's national championship game.

One of the two spectacular freshmen will be the top choice in June's NBA draft and the other will go No. 2.

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It was a great subplot to college basketball's biggest event and especially intriguing to New Yorkers because the Knicks are likely to have the best chance to make the decision between the two.

The two people this had never been a contest to are Okafor, the Chicagoan, and Towns, the New Jersey product. They have a friendship that dates to their days playing as rising stars on the AAU circuit. They communicate by text message often. They call each other at least twice a season, on Towns' birthday Nov. 15 and Okafor's birthday Dec. 15.

"That's the media's job," Towns said of the two "competing" to be the No. 1 pick. "Our job, we're just friends. We're great friends, and we just worry about each other's well-being."

Okafor began the season as the presumptive No. 1 pick and has played up to the hype. He has been an inside scoring presence like none other in college basketball this season. The 6-11, 270-pounder brought averages of 17.5 points and 8.7 rebounds in 30.3 minutes into Duke's meeting with Michigan State at Lucas Oil Stadium before scoring 18 points.

Towns, who finished with 16 points and nine rebounds Saturday night, came on strong late and has actually surpassed Okafor on some draft boards at national websites that track such things. Coming in at 6-11 and 255 pounds, he can be a scoring force as he was with 25 points on 10-for-13 shooting in the Wildcats' narrow win over Notre Dame in the Midwest Region final. But he is more athletic and a better defensive presence around the rim. He came to the Final four averaging 10.1 points and 6.6 rebounds in just 20.8 minutes — he doesn't play as much with Kentucky so deep with talent.

But what they are today is only half of how NBA teams evaluate players going into the draft. "You have to consider upside always," one NBA scout said. "Okafor might be more productive for a team right away because his game is more developed right now. Towns might be the better player in five years. Of course that's the 'could be' part of the draft."

They've been developing during this season.

Karl-Anthony Towns fails to get a chance to match up against Okafor which would likely feature the top-2 draft picks. (Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said "Jah is just an amazing talent who is only going to get better."

"I'm confident. There's nothing that a defense can do," Okafor said. "If I'm being played by one man, I feel I can score, and if I'm being played by two or three, I feel I can make the right pass and my teammates will score."

In 13 of his first 20 games, Towns didn't score in double figures. He had done so in 11 of the 18 games leading up to Saturday's national semifinal against Wisconsin.